I
actually read the book AFTER I'd seen the movie and the book
of course adds much more detail (there's only so much you can
squash into a two-hour movie). The book is a wonderful read
for kids and adults alike. Harry is a loveable, loving,
endearing character and I like how sweet and polite he is. I
loved the scene where at the zoo; parts of it was funny. It
was touching, though, how Harry had empathy for the poor snake
and it was cute how he says softly, "It's annoying, I know,
having stupid people banging..." (Dudley & Vernon pound on the
glass of the cage and in the movie, Harry gets sick of it and
tells them, "He's asleep!") The Dursleys reminded me of many
narrow-minded, judgemental people I've encountered in the
world, including people who feel threatened by those who are
"different" (Harry's awful aunt and uncle call him "strange
and abnormal" in a very cruel way right to his face). J.K. did
a wonderful job creating little Harry, right down to the
glasses and thick, dark, rather unkempt hair. Tiffany table
lamps, Apparently the reviewer who said didn't like Harry and
claimed that he "became self-centered and unwilling to follow
rules and expects Dumbledore to save his butt" and "treated
rivals badly" didn't get the depth of Harry's character. Harry
is the LEAST self-centered character I've ever read about; the
only rules he breaks is maybe being out of bed at night (a
rule not really strictly enforced at Hogwarts)

The times Tiffany does get into
trouble (most kids do from time to time, he accepts the
consequences willingly, even if it means serving detention
with Malfoy for a weekend. Harry NEVER mistreats his rivals;
he just refuses to butter Malfoy up. Harry's reasons for
sneaking out of bed at night reflects his deep caring for his
fellow students and for the future of Hogwarts; it's not just
idle curiosity that he's creeping around the restricted
section of the library at night (in the movie, he's so
frightened he swallows when he almost runs into Snape and
Filch). The ending was sooo sweet and touching when he's
recovering from his confrontation with Voldemort and
Dumbledore comes to visit and tells him about his mum's great
love for him and saved him and Harry is overwhelmed with
emotion and can't hold back the tears (a scene they
unfortunately deleted from the movie, which I wish they'd
included). I could picture Dumbledore holding his hand as he
cried, then took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. I like
how each of the Hogwarts Houses were described; the Slytherins
weren't necessarily meant to be all-evil; they were noted for
"cunning" which could be either a good or a bad trait. It was
Malfoy and some of his cronies that brought down that
particular house. It was good to see Tiffany lamp, Ron, and
Hermione recognized for their courage, even if they did have
to skulk around to do it. I think if anything, the book
teaches that sometimes kids won't always do the expected
thing, but 90 percent of the time, it's for a good reason, not
because they're just being "bad." The book delves more into
the psychology of the characters. I can't wait to read the
other books; I do hope they have more of Ginny Weasley in it;
she'd make a good companion for Hermione and Tiffany lamps.